User interface and method to facilitate hierarchical specification of queries using an information taxonomy

ABSTRACT

A user interface, system, and method are disclosed to facilitate specification of queries and displaying corresponding results. The user interface presents the user with dimensions that contain one or more headings arranged according to an information taxonomy, which can vary based on the intended implementation for the system and user interface. A corresponding filter or query is constructed based on the user selecting of one or more headings. The filter is applied to one or more databases to return results that satisfy the filter. The results are presented in the user interface and can include interactive items based on a particular query as well as can correspond to a fully specified task.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application id a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/141,233, filed May 8, 2002, and entitled, “USER INTERFACE AND METHODTO FACILITATE HIERARCHICAL SPECIFICATION OF QUERIES USING AN INFORMATIONTAXONOMY.” The entirety of the aforementioned application is hereinincorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to computer programming and,more particularly, to a user interface and method that represents adiverse information taxonomy to facilitate specifying queries andinteractively displaying corresponding results.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various types of user interfaces have been developed to facilitateaccess to data arranged in one or more databases. The interfacestypically present data according to how the data is arranged in thedatabase.

One commonly utilized database structure is a hierarchical databasemodel. A hierarchical database corresponds to a type of databasemanagement system that links records together in a tree structure. Forexample, the hierarchical model includes a root node and children nodesthat depend acyclically from the root node. In a traditionalhierarchical model, each node can have at most one parent node, althoughany number of children.

Another database structure is a network database model, which is similarto the hierarchical model. But instead of using a single-parent treehierarchy, the network model employs set theory to provide a tree-likehierarchy with the exception that children nodes can have more than oneparent. This enables the network model to support variousinterrelationships that are usually absent from the pure hierarchicalmodel.

One particular use of a network model relates to a metadirectoryservice. For example, a metadirectory corresponds to a centralizedservice that collects information from different data sources, such asdifferent directories throughout an organization. The metadirectorycombines all or a portion of the collected information into anintegrated, unified view via an associated user interface. In a businessorganization, for example, a metadirectory can combine disparateinformation into a single, logical directory, such as based on identityinformation in e-mail applications, human resource systems, networkoperating system directories, and other corporate systems. Themetadirectory thus facilitates presentation of information about anobject, such as a person or network resource, that is containedthroughout the organization.

Typically, user interfaces to the foregoing and other types of databasesystems have several shortcomings. For example, conventional userinterfaces are specialized for a particular application and, as such,are generally inflexible to adaptations. Additionally, due tocustomization for a particular purpose, users often are confronted witha diverse set of front-ends that each requires training.

While some user interfaces attempt to provide a generalized front-end,these approaches tend to require users to construct complex queriesusing arcane interfaces that in themselves may require significanttraining. In addition, user interfaces for databases tend to exhibitdelays from when a query is submitted to when results are presented tothe user. For example, most database front-ends require user toconstruct a query, submit the query to the database engine, then waitfor the presentation of the results. Frequently, due to an imprecisequery on the part of the user, imperfect knowledge about what questionto ask, or the improper use of the predefined query language, a userwill be presented with either too many or too few results. Thisdiscourages users from attempting many different iterations on a query.Because conventional approaches make effective querying a slow process,it is often difficult for the user to understand the relationshipbetween selected criteria and resulting views of the database.

Most database front-ends present a fixed view of the set of querycriteria. Users can only choose from one level of granularity forparticular criteria. This makes it very difficult (or even impossible)for a user to easily narrow or broaden the applicability of a particularcriteria, as any changes to a current query usually require submissionand processing of a new query.

Most database front-ends also present a fixed view of their inherentinformation taxonomy. This taxonomy is usually based on how the data isstored in the database. Users, who are not familiar with the searchterms that are presented, however, are often frustrated when they cannotfind the search term they need.

Current database systems are generally not used for accessing largecommand sets. Their user interfaces have not been tuned to presentcommands (actions) and their relationships to actionable items.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. Thissummary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is intended toneither identify key or critical elements of the invention nor delineatethe scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some conceptsof the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

The present invention relates generally to a user interface, system, andmethod to facilitate specifying queries. A user is presented with acollection of dimensions that contain one or more headings arrangedaccording to an information and/or command taxonomy. The headings can beselected based on the intended implementation for the system and userinterface and can be extracted from metadata (including metadata derivedfrom analysis of the content of the items in the database) associatedwith various commands and database items. The headings and dimensionsare presented as display objects that a user can employ to generate acorresponding filter or query. For example, a user can iterativelyselect among one or more headings and subheadings to define a filter,which is applied to one or more databases. Corresponding results thatsatisfy the filter are presented to the user based on the filtergenerated for the selection(s). The results can be displayed as one ormore user-selectable interactive items, such as graphics and/or textcorresponding to the selected heading(s). Selection of such items canprovide additional information as well as can implement actions forcommands specified by the items. When a command is implemented via theuser interface, the corresponding result can correspond to a fullyspecified task. Further, the concurrent presentation of headings andresults for a filter facilitate iterative searching and implementationof associated tasks.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a user is presentedwith an indication of the query constructed from the one or moreselections. By way of example, the system can include a natural languagegenerator that provides a corresponding natural language sentence for aquery entered by selecting one or more headings. Alternatively oradditionally, the user can enter a natural language query (e.g.,textually or verbally) with headings being selected based on the query.The conversion between natural language and heading selections helps theuser understand the information taxonomy as well as the operators usedto implement queries.

A heading within a given dimension can have multiple associatedsubheadings, such as can be employed to narrow a query. Thus, a user canselect more than one heading and/or subheading to construct a filterhaving multiple levels of granularity. Feedback can also be presented tothe user (e.g., textual and/or graphical indication) indicate therelevance or irrelevance of particular headings and subheadings relativeto a current filter being implemented. Thus, the feedback provides a cuethat enables a user to ascertain whether certain headings or subheadingswould be constructive refinements to the current filter.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, selectionsfrom one or more users can be employed to modify the taxonomy so as toprovide a more user-friendly presentation of the taxonomy for theseand/or other subsequent users. As a result, the user interface andassociated taxonomy can adapt and improve through use.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certainillustrative aspects of the invention are described herein in connectionwith the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspectsare indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which theprinciples of the invention may be employed and the present invention isintended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Otheradvantages and novel features of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description of the invention when considered inconjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system to facilitate specification ofqueries in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a system to facilitatespecification of queries in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is an example of a system that can be implemented to facilitatespecification of queries in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is an example of a user interface for an information/commandtaxonomy in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an example of selecting a heading in a user interface inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an example of a user interface displaying results for aselected heading in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an example of a user interface displaying a hierarchicalclassification for a selected heading in accordance with an aspect ofthe present invention.

FIG. 8 is an example of a user interface displaying a natural languagerepresentation of filter being implemented in accordance with an aspectof the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an example of part of a user interface displaying synonyms fora selected heading in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 10A-10D illustrate an example of finding a synonym in a dimensionof a user interface in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 11A-11B show an example of a sequence that can be used for synonymsearching across multiple columns in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 12 is an example of a user interface generating a filter based anatural language input query in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 13 is an example of a user interface implementing predictivefeedback for a selected heading in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 14 is an example of a user interface implementing predictivefeedback for a selected heading in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 is an example of graphical results for a filter implemented inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an example of graphical results for a filter implemented inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an example of a results for a user interface arranged byrelevance in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an example of a user interface having a display objectconfigured to facilitate selecting among continuous values in a selectedheading in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an example of a user interface displaying a user interfacefeature to facilitate selecting from among continuous values in adimension in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is an example of a user interface displaying textual andgraphical user interface feature to facilitate selecting amongcontinuous values for a selected heading in accordance with an aspect ofthe present invention.

FIG. 21 is an example of part of a user interface displaying resultssorted in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is an example of part of a user interface displaying resultssorted in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is an example of part of a user interface displaying resultssorted in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an example of part of a user interface displaying resultssorted in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is an example of part of a user interface visualizingrelationships between results displayed in accordance with an aspect ofthe present invention.

FIG. 26 is an example of part of a user interface visualizingrelationships for a selected item displayed in accordance with an aspectof the present invention.

FIG. 27 is an example of part of a user interface visualizingrelationships for a selected item displayed in accordance with an aspectof the present invention.

FIG. 28 is an example of part of a user interface visualizingrelationships for a selected item and corresponding items displayed inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 29 is an example of part of a user interface visualizingrelationships for an item selected in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 30 is an example of a user interface configured for an internalbusiness application in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 31 is an example of a user interface configured as a commandinterface for home device control applications in accordance with anaspect of the present invention.

FIG. 32 is an example of a user interface configured as a commandinterface for simple word processing in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention.

FIG. 33 is an example of a user interface configured for accessing acorporate research database in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 34 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a user interfaceconfigured to display results of an information query implemented inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 35 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a user interfaceconfigured to display results of a business transaction implemented inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 36 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a user interfaceconfigured to display results of image documents retrieved in accordancewith an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 37 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a user interfaceconfigured to display results of television shows matching a queryimplemented in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 38 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a user interfaceconfigured to display results of a query for jazz music implemented inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 39 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a user interfaceconfigured as a command interface for playing a multi-player video gamein accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 40 is a screen shot illustrating an example of a user interfaceconfigured to facilitate accessing a corporate research database inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 41 is a screen shot illustrating an example of the user interfaceof FIG. 40 configured to display results of items related to a selectedperson in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 42 is a screen shot illustrating an example of the user interfaceof FIG. 40 configured to display results of items related to a selectedtopic in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 43 is a screen shot illustrating an example of the user interfaceof FIG. 40 configured to display results of items related to a selectedproject in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 44 is an example of a possible operating environment in whichvarious aspects of the present invention can be implemented.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a user interface, system, andmethod to facilitate specification of queries and display ofcorresponding results. The user interface presents the user withdimensions that contain one or more headings arranged according to aninformation taxonomy, which can vary based on the intendedimplementation for the system and user interface. A corresponding filteror query is constructed based on the user selecting of one or moreheadings. The filter is applied to one or more databases ormetadatabases to return results that satisfy the filter. The results arepresented in the user interface and can include interactive graphicaland/or textual items corresponding to information results of aparticular query and/or to actions that can be performed as a fullyspecified command or task.

FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a general system 10 to facilitatespecification of queries in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention. The system 10 includes a user interface 12, such as agraphical user interface (GUI) presented on a computer monitor, PDA,television or other display for an electronic appliance. The userinterface 12, for example, presents a visualization of an informationtaxonomy for one or more databases. The visualization, for example,includes one or more interactive dimension display objects 14, whichpresent a hierarchical taxonomy of headings for a general informationspace 16 and/or commands to implement selected tasks or actions. Theuser interface 12 also includes one or more results objects 18 thatpresent results of a query or command that can be implemented via theuser interface. A results object 18 thus can correspond to information,to interactive display objects, which can be graphical and/or textualuser interface elements, that can be selected to provide access toinformation as well as to controls for implementing a command based onthe selected heading(s).

Each heading of a dimension object 14 further may include subheadingsthat correspond to a narrower subset of information in the taxonomy. Thesubheadings can be displayed with headings or be dynamically associatedwith headings in response to selecting a heading with a user inputdevice 20. The user input device (e.g., a mouse, keyboard, touch pad,touch screen, remote-control, voice-controller, etc.) 20 is used to movea graphical object (a pointer, selection area, or cursor) on the screenrelative to the graphical representation of the user interface 12. Theuse of headings and subheadings provides multiple levels of possiblesearching, which adds depth to the taxonomy represented by the userinterface 12 as well as facilitates iterative searching, as describedherein.

The headings associated with the dimension objects 14 correspond tosearch terms for the associated information space 16. For example, theinformation space 16, which can be formed of one or more databases 22and 24, is decomposed and then presented as several canonicaldimensions, such as Who, What, and About to name a few. As used herein,it is to be understood and appreciated that the term database caninclude one or more databases, directories and/or metadirectories. Thedimensions as well as associated headings and subheadings can be derivedfrom the metadata present in the information space 16. Additionally,statistical and/or algorithmic analysis of the content of the items inthe database can also yield metadata corresponding to headings in thetaxonomy. Commands are encapsulations of actions that can be performedover a scope of objects, such to activate devices, applications and thelike. The headings and commands that form the dimension objects 16 canbe determined manually by the software engineer or by statisticalmethods, such as from the information space and available devices andapplications.

Headings and commands may also be created by any user of the interface,who can compose and insert new headings and commands as is deemedconvenient. In some situations, a user-supplied heading or command mightcorrespond to an already existing heading or command, but that isidentified by a different term or combination of terms. In this case,the existing heading or command in the taxonomy can be modified to thatversion supplied by the user. In other situations, a user-suppliedheading or command can correspond to a filter defined by one or moreselected headings and commands. For example, the user can create a newheading or command within a desired dimension, which can be presented astext and/or graphics in such dimension. In this way, selection of suchheading results in the user-defined filter being implemented relative tothe information/command space 16. Additionally, if plural users shouldcreate a same or similar heading or command for their respectivetaxonomies, global changes can be implemented to the taxonomy so that acorresponding heading or command is added to the taxonomy (e.g. for allor a subset of users).

By way of particular illustration, the information space 16 can includea data polyarchy. A data polyarchy is two or more intersectinghierarchies of data. In other words, in a data polyarchy one or moredata nodes in a first hierarchy are shared in various dimensions withone or more other hierarchies of data. Thus, the information space 16can include a data manager to manage intersecting data between databases22 and 24.

The system 10 constructs a filter 26 in response to one or more headingsor commands being selected via the user input 20. Construction of thefilter 26 initiates a query for information in the information space 16and/or performance of a corresponding action. The filter 26 queries theinformation space 16 for information or command items that satisfy thefilter. Because the filter 26 includes metadata derived from theinformation space 16, based on the heading(s) and/or selected commands,access and retrieval of information is facilitated. One or more resultsobjects 18 are presented in the user interface 12 for information andcommands satisfying the filter. In the particular case of a command, forexample, a results object can correspond to a fully specified taskassociated with appropriate device controls 28 to enable activationand/or use of a corresponding device, application, and so forth. Bothheadings and results can be concurrently displayed to facilitateiterative, real-time information queries and implementation of tasks.

As depicted in the example of FIG. 1, the user interface 12 can operatea front end to access the information space 16 through a network 30,such as a local or wide area network. For example, the user interface 12can be provided as search/command engine accessible over the Internet oran intranet. Alternatively or additionally, the user input device can bea remote wireless device (e.g., mobile telephone, PDA, notebookcomputer, etc.) that is served the user interface 12 by an associatedserver (not shown) through a telecommunications network 30. While theuser interface 12 is illustrated as connected to the information space16 through the network 30, it is to be understood and appreciated thatthe user interface also can exist remotely and be accessed via the userinput device 20 through the network. In another alternative approach,the network 30 could be eliminated with the user interface 12 andinformation space 16 existing wholly or partially on the same machine.Thus, those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate variouscommunication schemes that can be employed to implement a user interfaceand associated methodology in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 illustrates another example of a system 50 to facilitatespecification of a query and presentation of results in accordance withan aspect of the present invention. The system 50 includes a userinterface 52 that includes an interactive classification 54 representinginformation/command taxonomy for an associated information/command space56. In the example of FIG. 2, the taxonomy 54 is populated with aplurality of dimension objects 58, 60 and 62. Each of the dimensionobjects 58-62 corresponds to a high level canonical dimension of theinformation/command taxonomy. The number and composition of dimensions58-62 generally varies according to the particular application andinformation space for which the user interface 52 is being utilized. Theuser can also select subsets of the dimensions for display.

Each of the dimensions 58-62 includes headings that delineate differenthigh-level categories in the associated dimension. The headings can besearch terms derived from metadata associated with data items in theinformation space, for example. Similarly, headings can correspond tocommands or functions that can be performed relative to associateddevices, applications or components. The headings can be provided as atabular list of textual and/or graphical objects within the respectivedimensions 58-62. The heading objects, for example, identify metadataassociated with that particular dimension. Thus, command objects can bearranged as a tabular list under a command dimension, with differentlevels of headings and subheadings defining different levels ofgranularity for a particular command or function.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, headings,subheadings or command terms can be listed in multiple places in theinformation taxonomy to provide redundancy. The redundancy accounts forthe belief that different users may conceive of information taxonomiesin different ways. In this way, seemingly different orders of headingselections can result in identical filters. The redundant placement ofsearch/command terms can extend across the taxonomy (e.g., the samelevel but in different dimensions) as well as in depth (e.g., differentlevels but in the same or different dimensions). By way of example, aterm such as “Weather” could be provided in a top dimension (e.g.,“About”) as well as in a tertiary subheading under the same or adifferent dimension (e.g., “About/News/Local/Weather”). Additionally, ifthe term “Weather” had not been provided in the top dimension by thedesigners of the taxonomy, the user could alter her view of the taxonomyto insert it there as well as at one or more other locations deemedappropriate by the user.

The system also includes a filter generator 64 that generates a filter66 based on a user selecting one or more headings from the availabledimensions 58-62 presented in the user interface 54. For example, thefilter generator 64 constructs a Boolean expression based on theselected headings, in which selections within a dimension are ORed andthe selections across different dimensions are ANDed. Thissimplification is meant to address the problem that most users do notfully comprehend the intricacies of Boolean operators and how theycombine to form expressions. Those skilled in the art will understandand appreciate other ways in which filter expressions can be constructedin accordance with an aspect of the present invention. User interactionis not impeded because the system does not require the user to specifythe type of Boolean operators to be used in the query, as the dimensionsfrom which headings and/or subheadings are selected can themselvesdefine Boolean operators on the selected headings.

The filter 66 defines a query that is applied to the information space56, which can include one or more databases 68, 70 and 72. The databases68-72 can be implemented in one or more servers. The particular mannerin which data is stored in the databases 68-72 can vary depending, forexample, the type of information and manner in which the information iscollected. A database manager (not shown) also can be associated withthe respective databases 68-72 to apply the query and retrieveinformation satisfying the query from the respective databases. Due tothe possible disparate nature of the databases 68-72, the system 50 canbe implemented in conjunction with a metadirectory service, intermediarycontent index, or other type of network database system to facilitateretrieval of desired information and performance of associated commands.

In order to facilitate presentation and modifications of the dimensions58-62 provided in the user interface 52, the system also can include ataxonomy manager 74, such as service or database. The taxonomy manager74, for example, includes or has access to dimension data 76, whichstores the headings and commands representing dimensions for thetaxonomy. The dimension data 76 can be stored in a metadirectoryseparately from the information/command space 56 or, alternatively, itcan be stored as part of the information space.

To help improve the taxonomy, the taxonomy manager can employ ananalyzer 78 to adjust the taxonomy for one or more users. The analyzer78, for example, is programmed to monitor user selections and/or usermodifications to assignable metadata. In response to the monitoredproperties, the analyzer can algorithmically determine what changes, ifany, should be implemented relative to the taxonomy. Such changes can beapplied globally so that the taxonomy for all user interfaces reflectsthe change or so that the taxonomy for a selected subset of one or moreuser interfaces is altered accordingly (e.g., based on a user profile,taxonomy usage, or other characteristics).

It is still further to be appreciated that, as mentioned above, thetaxonomy manager 74 can implement taxonomical changes individually foreach user, so as to provide a customized presentation of the taxonomyfor each user. In order to enable customized interfaces for pluralusers, selected of the dimension data 76 further can be linked withrespective users or to subsets of users (e.g., through a user ID, acookie or other identifying information). As a result, the taxonomymanager 74 can populate respective user interfaces 52 with correspondingheadings and commands, including changes and additions made byrespective users. For example, the individual changes can correspond toadding a new heading or command (e.g., corresponding to a predefinedfilter) as well as to deleting or otherwise modifying existing headingsrelative to the visualization or the taxonomy for that user.

Information and/or commands satisfying the filter are returned as one ormore results/action objects 80 in the user interface 52, such as in anassociated part (e.g., a window or pane) of the interface. Theresults/action object 80 presents an indication of results from theinformation/command space that satisfy the filter 66. The results can bedisplayed as textual, graphical and/or audible objects associated withthe user interface 52 (e.g., as a tabular list). After selecting one ormore items in the results object 80, the user can issue a command torefine the filter 66, such as based on the selected items or otherinputs (e.g., selecting or deselecting other headings or subheadings) torefine the filter. As an alternative, the results from a query can bedisplayed integrated with the search terms, interleaved with theheadings and sub-headings.

The results presented by the results object 80, for example, can beorganized or sorted based on which dimension(s) and headings areselected. For example, organizing the results based on the “Place”dimension could cause the result items to be presented superimposed on ageographic map. For example, selecting the title for a particulardimension sorts the contents of the results so that the metadata withinthe selected dimension(s) is employed as the primary sort. The resultsobject 80 also can present results of an associated query divided intoseveral regions that display additional information, such as to showmultiple levels of relevancy for the query. For example, one region candisplay results that exactly match the query, another region for itemsdeemed as related to the current results, and a third region for itemsthat are deemed by a service-provider or data-provider as beingparticularly relevant to the user given the general scope of the currentfilter.

As with common interfaces front-ends to operating systems such as fileviewers, successive selection of different dimension headings can beused to easily specify nested sorts. For example, clicking on theheading for the “Size” dimension would cause the results items to besorted via their size in the file-system. Subsequently clicking on the“Date” heading would cause the primary sort of the results items to be“creation-date.” A secondary sort based on file-size would still bemaintained.

By way of illustration, a user is initially presented with severalcolumns of filter criteria, such as in which each column corresponds toone of the canonical dimensions 58-68. With each selection of a heading,the filter generator 64 constructs a corresponding filter, which causesa separate results/action display object to be populated with items fromthe information space 56 that satisfy the new current filter. If theuser wishes to narrow their search, the user can expand a particularheading to reveal more specific filter criteria, such as subheadingsassociated with the expanded heading. Thus, a selection from thisfiner-grain list narrows the results of the query. If too few items areshown in the results object 80, the user also can deselect filters orselect broader headings, thereby broadening the query. Those skilled inthe art will understand and appreciate that more complex filters can beconstructed by choosing multiple headings and commands from multipledimensions 58-60 and multiple levels. Additionally, or alternatively,the user can enter free-text query that can be converted to the filterand visualized to the user by selecting corresponding headings andsubheadings in the user interface 52. A user can select one or moreitems displayed with the results object 80 to obtain additionalinformation associated with the displayed results or edit the selecteditem.

For example, the system 50 can present a user with information aboutrelationships between different results items in the results object 80.The relationships can be determined as a function of metadata associatedwith the related results items. The relationships can be determinedexplicitly, such as when certain metadata of a results item matchesmetadata in another results item or when content that has been indexedfrom multiple items is judged by the system to be similar. Alternativelyor additionally, a relationship can be determined implicitly, such asbased on an evaluation of other metadata indicating a likelyrelationship. An implicit relationship can be identified by populatingassociated metadata (e.g., tagging the data object) with informationthat indicates that the data object has a particular characteristic.Thus, those results items having metadata indicative of the particularcharacteristic will be considered related in the common characteristic.Implicitly derived metadata can also come from statistical analysis ofthe content of the items in the database(s) 68-72, whether the items betextual, image, audio, or of another content type. The content analysiscan be implemented, for example, in one or more servers (e.g., ametadirectory or polyarchy server) or within the user interface itself,such that the results are utilized in the user interface 52 to enablepresentation of pertinent relationships.

By way of illustration, the metadata can correspond to one or more ofthree general categories of information. The metadata can be generatedby at the associated server or by one or more services running inconjunction with the databases 68-72, such as at one more otherservices. In one aspect, the metadata can include system information,which is generally tied to characteristics of respective items in thedatabase (e.g., indexed content, including, size, type, creation date,author, etc.). Another category of metadata includes user-createdinformation, such as “subject”, preference, priority, genre, to name afew. A third category corresponds to metadata derived from content ofthe database items. This type of metadata, for example, can come fromstatistical or other algorithmic analysis of the actual content of itemsin the database. If a sophisticated enough image recognition technologyexisted, a semantic tag (e.g., metadata) could be assigned by the system50 to identify what is in the image (“horse”, “child”, etc). Thoseskilled in the art will understand and appreciate that, as newalgorithms are discovered, the metadata can be created in new ways,perhaps even in real-time from arbitrary content, thereby enablingsearching across any information store, even those that are notstructured databases.

When a filter 66 is constructed to implement a command, theresults/action object 80 may present controls 82 to the user forimplementing the command. Thus, the user interface 52 can provide acommand interface to issue a wide range of commands to linkedapplications and devices. In this kind of configuration, the userinterface 52 becomes a domain-specific task-based user-interface whereitems presented in the results object 80 can correspond to fullyspecified tasks. As a command interface, the headings in each commanddimension enable the user to iteratively search through the command andtask space, which can include multiple levels. This is in contrast toways that users find commands in a typical application (e.g., either bylooking through a set of fixed menus or by searching in a linked helpsystem). By composing the command space into a taxonomy that presentsdynamically generated tasks, locating and implementing tasks isfacilitated in accordance with an aspect of the present invention.

For example, if the command is to operate an associated electronicappliance, the controls can provide the user with appropriate options,which may include interactive textual and/or graphical display objects,for implementing at least the selected function of the appliance.Alternatively or additionally, the command selection can activate anassociated application or user interface based on the selected commandheading(s). Those skilled in the art will understand and appreciatedvarious ways in which controls for associated applications and devicescan be implemented via the user interface 52, all of which arecontemplated as falling within the scope of the present invention.

Thus, according to an aspect of the present invention, it is to beappreciated that the user interface 52 can provide a command interfaceonly, a query specification interface only, or a combination informationand command interface.

FIG. 3 is an example of a system 100 that can be implemented tofacilitate specification of queries, such as for a command and/orinformation interface, in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention. The system 100 includes a graphical user interface (GUI) 102that presents an interactive taxonomy programmed and/or configuredaccording to an information and/or command-task space 104 for which thesystem is being implemented. The GUI 102 includes a plurality of displaydata objects 106, 108, 110, and 112, which can be programmed to presentinformation to a user, such as in the form of graphical, textual and/oraudible objects. The objects 106-112 also can be interactive objectsprogrammed to receive information, such as user information provided asa user input 114. The user input data can correspond to inputs providedby any type of user input device, including, for example, a pointingdevice (e.g., mouse, touch screen, touch pad, etc.), a keyboard, keypad,a speech processor, to name a few. The user input 114 operates on thedata objects 106-112, such as to select attributes and/or associatedparameters.

In the example of FIG. 3, the user interface 102 is depicted asincluding dimension data objects 106 and 108, which correspond tohigh-level canonical dimensions in the information/command taxonomy. Forexample, high level information dimensions for dimension objects 106,108 might include ABOUT, WHERE, WHO and COMMAND, where the COMMANDdimension corresponds to at least part of a command interface.

The dimension objects 106 and 108 also include a variety of respectivemetadata 116 and 118, which can be derived from metadata associated withdata items in the information space 104. The dimension objects 106 and108 include headings (not shown) that are terms or objects that visuallyrepresent the metadata 116 and 118, respectively, in the GUI 102. Theheadings define categories of subject matter that, in turn, usuallycontain sub-categories or subheadings. Headings, for example, correspondto query terms that are aggregated to form a filter, which is used by anassociated database or search engine or directory service to searchthrough the information/command space 104. Headings can also includecommands that correspond to operating instructions that can be issued bythe user to applications running on the computer or other devices thatare connected to the computer or other appliance running the userinterface 102. Commands are typically segregated into one dimensionobject of the user interface, although could be provided in differentdimension objects and within different subcategories. The headings canbe selected by information scientists based on common usage andconventions in the particular field for the interface 102. Taxonomiescan also be created manually or by statistical methods. The manualapproach is appropriate if the information space is easily understood bythe general set of its users.

An example would be a taxonomy for news items. Most users wouldunderstand a classification system for News items that include thecategories: “Local”, “International”, “Weather”, “Sports”, “Business”,“Lifestyles”, and “Business.” Users are familiar with this kind ofcategorization from common media such as Newspapers and News websites.The category of “Weather” could then be further divided into “Local”,“Regional”, “Storms”, and “General Information.” To mitigate errorsassociated with composing the hierarchy of headings in connection with alarge information spaces, a hierarchy of headings can be dynamicallycreated via statistical analysis of the distribution of attributesvalues. Additionally, particular headings may be populated in multipleplaces (e.g., to provide redundancy in different dimensions and/ordifferent levels within one or more dimensions), as different users maythink of information taxonomies in different ways.

After the initial specification of headings and subheadings for a giventaxonomy, as represented in dimension objects 106 and 108, headings canbe ordered by several methods, including alphabetical, frequency of use,inherent ordering of continuous values, effectiveness as defined by theaforementioned statistical methods, or direct user re-ordering to suitpersonal preference. The user or taxonomy creator further can reduceclutter and initial complexity by choosing to only show a subset of theheadings at the start. At any time, a user can then customize thepresentation by revealing hidden headings or reordering the headings ina given dimension 106, 108. Such customization, for example, might alterthe metadata that drives the displayed dimensions, as well as thestructure of the underlying taxonomy. The customization can be employedto modify the taxonomy for a given user or, more broadly, relative for asubset of some or all users.

A filter generator 120 generates a corresponding filter 122 and/or 124in response to the user input 114 selecting one or more headings withinthe dimension objects 106 and 108. The filter generator 120 canconstruct an expression as a function of the selected heading orheadings. For example, the filter generator 120 can create a Booleanexpression that combines search terms for the selected headings bycorresponding logical operators (e.g., AND, OR, NOT) to provide acorresponding Boolean expression for the selected headings. By way ofillustration, selected headings or commands within a dimension or columncan be ORed with groups of headings between columns being ANDedtogether. It is to be understood and appreciated that other types ofoperators (e.g., mathematical or relational) also could be employed bythe filter generator 120 to construct a filter according to an aspect ofthe present invention.

The filter 122, 124 is used as a sort within the information space 104to provide results that satisfy the filter as the results data object110 in the user interface 102. For example, a database manager ormetadirectory service (not shown) can implement the sort relative toplural databases 126 and 128 in the information space 104. Alternativelyor additionally, a database engine of each database 126, 128 can employthe filter 122, 124 to locate data items within the respective databasethat satisfy the filter. The results object 110 provides an interactivedisplay object in the user interface 102 having associated metadata 130.The filter generator 120 can employ the metadata 130 to refine thecurrent filter 122, 124 based on the user input 114 indicating aselection of part of one or more display items in the results object110. A current filter also can be modified iteratively by the user basedon the user input 114 selecting or deselecting one or more headings (atdifferent degrees of specificity) associated with a dimension object106, 108.

In the example of FIG. 3 the filter 122 is an information filter andfilter 124 is a command filter. The information filter 122 generally isconstructed based on an aggregation of one or more headings thatcorrespond to search terms for the information space 104. The commandfilter 124 is constructed from one or more headings associated withperforming tasks relative to, for example, an associated application ora device. A dashed line interconnecting the filters 122 and 124represents a hybrid filter that includes characteristics from both typesof filters. Depending on, for example, the terms in the filter 122, 124and/or the type of filter, the filter can be selectively applied to thedatabases 126-128 of the information/command space 104 to obtain andpresent the user with corresponding results at 110.

The system 100 also includes an interface manager 140 programmed tocontrol the various attributes of the user interface 102 according to anaspect of the present invention. The interface manager 140, which can beimplemented as a service at one or more servers or within the userinterface, employs an associated taxonomy system 142 that controls whatinformation is to be presented in the user interface 102. For example,the taxonomy system 142 includes a taxonomy service, such as implementedat one or more servers. The taxonomy system 142 includes a dimensiondata system (e.g., a database or directory) 144 that defines theinformation/command taxonomy, including that represented in the GUI 102.The dimension data system 144 includes available headings, subheadingsand commands and their relationships for use in the taxonomy representedin the GUI 102. It is to be understood that the dimension data system144 also can be modified to customize the taxonomy for individual userinterfaces and/or for subsets of plural user interfaces. The taxonomysystem 142 also can include a language database 146 that storesinformation about the language and terms (including synonyms) that canbe selected for generating a filter according to an aspect of thepresent invention. It is to be understood and appreciated that thelanguage database 146 could be implemented as part of the dimension datasystem 144 or in conjunction with a separate service associated with anatural language engine, as described below.

The interface manager 140 includes a feedback component 148 programmedto implement feedback relative to the user interface 102 based on userinputs 114. The feedback component 148 can present a list of subheadingsin response to selecting a particular heading. Additionally, thefeedback component 148 can provide predictive feedback at the userinterface 102. The predictive feedback can provide a textual, graphicaland/or audible indication, for example, of how many results and/or inwhich headings or subheadings results are distributed. Additionally oralternatively, feedback can be aggregated from multiple users or overtime from one or more users so that the metadata employed to derive thedisplayed dimensions can mature as a function of use.

By way of illustration, the feedback component 148 can be associated ananalysis component 150 of the taxonomy system 142. The analysiscomponent 150 can be programmed to monitor selections and/ormodifications provided by one or more user interfaces 102. Themodifications, for example, can include user-assignable metadata, suchas headings presented in the user interface as well as non-inherentattributes of stored data. The analysis component 150 can employ suchselections and modifications to discern (e.g., based on an algorithm orstatistically) whether to modify the taxonomy for a given user interfaceor for a subset of user interfaces. The analysis component 150 operateson the dimension data system 144 to implement appropriate modificationsto the taxonomy for one or more user interfaces based on the monitoredselections and/or modifications. The changes can be applied globally sothat the taxonomy for all user interfaces reflects the change or so thatthe taxonomy for a selected subset of one or more user interfaces isaltered accordingly (e.g., based on a user profile, taxonomy usage, orother characteristics). The analysis component 150 can be implemented asa service residing in one or more servers. The feedback component 148thus can implement taxonomy modifications dynamically (e.g., in realtime), including user-specific and/or global modifications, based onchanges made to the dimension data system 144.

By way of illustration, with a single filter selection, thousands ofresults can be returned or possibly none. To provide users a betterunderstanding of what the consequences of selecting particular headings,the feedback component 148 can associate numerical and/or graphicalreal-time visual feedback cues with corresponding headings of dimensionobjects 106 and 108 to show magnitude of impending prospective filters.For example, when the user hovers a graphical input object (e.g., apointer or tentative selection area as used in remote-controlinterfaces) over an unselected (prospective filter) or selected heading,a tool-tip or equivalent cue can be presented in the user interface 102to inform the user how many items will be presented in the results ifsuch heading or subheading is selected to modify the current filter.

Additionally, results items currently in the results object 110 thatwill be removed upon selecting or deselecting the heading under themouse can be visually diminished without fully hiding. This feature canbe implemented by processing the prospective new query and comparing theresults of the prospective query together with the current results. Theserver has to calculate the difference between the two queries and thenreturn the local identifiers of those items that are removed. If thedataset is large, this feature may require significant processing power.Accordingly, it may be desirable to allow the user to selectively enableand disable this feature, such as by providing an appropriate user input114.

The interface engine also includes a language engine 152 programmed toimplement linguistic features associated with the user interface 102.The language engine 152, for example, can include a natural languageengine operative to convert a filter into a natural language textualrepresentation (e.g., a sentence) and/or convert a natural languagesentence into a corresponding filter, which can be employed to selectcorresponding headings and/or subheadings in the user interface 102. Thelanguage engine 152 also can access language database 146 to ascertainsynonyms relative to various headings.

By way of illustration, the language engine 152 can implement automaticfilter-term generation, such as by identifying different parts of speechfrom one or more selected headings and commands. Additionally oralternatively, the language engine 152 can populate the natural languagedata object 112 of the user interface 102 to provide Natural languagefull-sentence feedback. For example, a user new to a particularinformation taxonomy, such as represented in the user interface 102 ofthe system 100, may at first not understand what is happening whenmultiple headings are selected, both from within one dimension 106 or108 and across multiple dimensions. The natural language portion of thelanguage engine 152 can generate, in real-time, a full-sentence versionof the current filter (constructed from the selected headings andcommands) and present that to the user. This helps the user implicitlyunderstand the operators and terms that are being used in the currentfilter.

Another aspect of the present invention enables a user to freely inputsearches (as voice or text user input data), which are provided to thelanguage engine 152. The language engine 152, in turn, accesses thelanguage database 146 and converts the user input 114 to a formcommensurate with the headings and commands in the current taxonomy.Terms that are not resolvable can be flagged (e.g., by highlighting) orotherwise identified, indicating to the user to either modify the termor make a corresponding heading selection in the GUI 102. Until the userselects enough headings to disambiguate the interpretation of thefree-text, the current filter 122, 124 incompletely represents theuser's intended query. The system uses as much of the interpreted filteras possible to generate a set of result items. While the filter is in anincomplete state, the results in the results object 110 of the GUI 102may show all relevant results, such as ranked by relevance. This bothhelps the user to refine their intention with the current filter andprovides serendipitous results that facilitate associative browsing. Inaddition, the user also can employ results at this (or another) stage tocreate a new heading or subheading for use in connection with aconvenient dimension desired by the user. The changes to the taxonomycan be implemented by modifying dynamic metadata stored in the datasystem 144 associated with one or more dimensions of the user interface102.

The language engine 152 also can generate synonyms dynamically inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention. In response to anappropriate request via the user input 114, the language engine 152 canretrieve one or more synonyms from the language database 146. Thedatabase 146 contains synonyms for the headings of the associatedtaxonomy. The synonym generation can be based on heuristics or createdby the creator of the information taxonomy.

By way of example, if a user cannot find a desired heading or command inthe currently visible portion of the taxonomy, the user can issue asearch over the set of commands and headings. The search can beinitiated by entering a term as the user input 114 to the GUI 102 or byappropriately selecting a term displayed in the existing taxonomy. Aninternal search engine 154 associated with the language engine 152 cansearch both the existing headings and commands in the taxonomy system142 and synonyms for existing terms. The scope of the search can bewithin a particular column or across all the columns. Matches can bepresented in the GUI 102 with a degree of relevance. The user can thenchoose whether to use the existing term in the taxonomy or customize theinterface 102 (either entered as a user input or selected from a list ofpossible synonyms), so as to populate the taxonomy with terms that arefamiliar to the user.

As mentioned above, the system 100 can be employed as a commandinterface to issue a wide range of commands to linked applications anddevices. In such a taxonomy, one or more dimension objects 106, 108contain terms that can be selectively combined to generate the commandfilter 122 so as to provide the user with a fully specified task, whichis presented as a results item in the results object 110. Thus, a usersimply needs to select a corresponding results item to perform acorresponding task. Those skilled in the art will understand andappreciate that one or more dimensions can be configured to facilitateimplementing specific tasks, such as operating a home-based appliance orperforming word processing.

By way of further illustration, the GUI 102 can be utilized as anelectronic program guide to facilitate viewing or recording of audioand/or visual programming. For example, available audio and/or visualprogramming data for respective programs may include metadataidentifying a title, description, duration, rating, stars or hosts,broadcast date and time, genre or category of program, etc. Thus, byselecting appropriate headings from the GUI 102, correspondinginformation may be organized and presented as results items in thecorresponding results pane. Various headings and subheadings of the GUI102 may, in turn, be selected by user inputs 114 to implement commandsor obtain information relative to desired programming (e.g., play orrecord a program, or obtain additional information about a particularprogram).

The foregoing and other features and characteristics will be betterappreciated with respect to FIGS. 4-43. FIGS. 4-43 illustrate specificexamples of various types of information and/or command interfaces andresults that can be implemented in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention. It is to be understood and appreciated that thefunctionality associated with these figures can be implemented ascomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules or processes,executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, programmodules include routines, programs, objects, components, datastructures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Typically the functionality of the program modulesmay be combined or distributed as desired.

For purposes of continuity and simplicity of explanation, identicalreference numbers have been used throughout FIGS. 4-33 to indicate bothidentical and similar components and features. It will be understood andappreciated that the features depicted in these figures are merelyillustrative of some possible examples of interfaces and associatedfeatures and functionality that can be implemented according to variousaspects of the present invention and, as such, are by no means intendedto limit the subject matter set forth in the appended claims.

FIG. 4 depicts an example of user interface 200 that includes aplurality of columns 202, 204, 206, 208, 210, 212, 214 and 216 thatcontain headings, which can be selected to generate filter criteria inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention. Each column 202-216represents one canonical dimension of an associated taxonomy. In thisexample, the canonical dimensions 202-216 correspond to DO, WHO,SUBJECT, PROPERTY, WHEN, TYPE, DEVICE, and WHERE. The dimension 202 ispart of a command interface that includes various commands that can beselected to perform a task, such as relative to one or more of thedevices or applications associated with the dimension 214.

The user can select headings or subheadings from as many columns as theyare interested in, such as to generate a corresponding filter accordingto the selections. For example, in FIG. 5, a pointer 220 is beingemployed to select a heading NEWS from the dimension 206 entitledSUBJECT. With each selection, a results pane is populated with itemsfrom one or more databases in the information/command space that satisfythe current filter, as defined by the selected heading(s) of thedisplayed taxonomy. Thus, as shown in FIG. 6, a list of related newsitems can be presented in a results pane 222 in response to selectingthe NEWS heading from the SUBJECT dimension 206. Due to likely limitedspace in the results pane 222, the results satisfying the selectedheading can be arranged in an order according to their relevance to thefilter or based on other sorting parameters, which can be user-selected.

By way of illustration, there are two general ways to populate a resultspane 222 with information when no selections have been made (e.g., adefault state). In a first example, when no filters are selected, noitems are displayed in an associated results pane. As soon as a headingor subheading is selected, all of the items in the database aredisplayed except those that do not satisfy the current filter. In asecond example, when no filters are selected, all of the items in thedatabase can be shown in the results pane. Selecting any filters willthen reduce the number of results items in order to satisfy the currentfilter.

As described herein, a heading may itself be a selectable high-levelfilter, or the heading may be used to access more specific criterion.Thus, if the user wishes to narrow the search under a particularheading, the user can expand the heading to reveal more specific filtercriteria (e.g., subheadings or categories) related to the selectedheading. FIG. 7 depicts an example of a NEWS display object 230, whichcan be dynamically presented on the GUI 200 by expanding the NEWSheading of the SUBJECT dimension 206. Thus, the NEWS display object 230includes some possible subheadings that can be provided under the NEWSheading of the subject column 206.

By way of illustration, if a user has selected a heading object, such asthe NEWS heading 230 from the SUBJECT dimension 206, the heading can beexpanded to show its subheadings for the current taxonomy. In responseto the user selecting one of its displayed subheadings (e.g., WEATHER),several things occur in the user interface 200. For example, the broadheading NEWS is deselected and the filter becomes narrower, such thatonly items that apply to weather are displayed. A visual cue also can bedisplayed in or next to the NEWS heading to indicate that one of theNEWS subheadings has been selected. Thus, clicking on a subheadingsubstantially narrows a filter.

As described herein, more complex filters can be constructed by choosingmultiple headings and/or commands from multiple dimensions and atdifferent levels of granularity. For example, where a current filter isbeing implemented (e.g., one or more selected headings), an intermediatefilter (e.g., broader) can be dynamically created in response to a userselecting one or more additional subheadings under a particular headingand/or several headings under a given dimension.

As a user selects headings or subheadings (e.g., query terms) from thetaxonomy, real-time full-text feedback can be provided by a naturallanguage generation system. In general, certain types of users are notvery facile at constructing (or understanding already constructed)complex queries, such as Boolean statements. To help educate these andother users, the GUI system, according to an aspect of the presentinvention, enforces a particular configuration of Boolean expressions,such as by OR′ing selections within a dimension and AND′ing theselections across different dimensions. This further helps reinforce forthe user how the provided columns and commands are used by the GUIsystem. The sentence construction disambiguates the relationship amongstthe terms selected in the current filter and helps show the inherentBoolean structure of the query.

Given, though, the general confusion that many users have with Booleanterms and the construction of Boolean statements, the good means ofindicating the nature of a Boolean composition is by providing veryquick response in retrieving results to satisfy the current filter. As auser selects and deselects particular headings and subheadings, the userwill implicitly perceive what kind of Boolean is being used. If an ANDis being used, fewer results will appear with each successive selectionof a heading or subheading. If OR is being used, more results willappear with each successive selection of a heading or subheading.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of the GUI 200 implementing a complexfilter and providing full-sentence feedback in a natural languagedisplay object 240 presented as part of the GUI. The text depicted inthe display object 240 corresponds to the filter defined by acombination of selected headings and subheadings: one heading isselected from the DO dimension 202; two subheadings are selected fromthe NEWS display object 230; one subheading is selected from a PRIORITYdisplay object 242 of the PROPERTY dimension 208; and one heading isselected from each of the remaining dimensions 210-216. In particular,the selections in the GUI 200 resolve to: “On my PC, show me news aboutinternational issues OR the environment that is of medium priority ANDtwo weeks ago.”

Because users may not always conceive of an information space in thesame way as the initial taxonomy is presented, the GUI system can, uponrequest, provide synonyms for words that are used in the headings andcommands. FIG. 9 illustrates an example of part of the GUI 200, showinghow a user may obtain synonyms in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention. In particular, the user has selected a DOCUMENTheading from a TYPE dimension 252. The synonyms for the DOCUMENT headingare presented in a dialog box 254 depicted as emanating from theselected heading.

The synonym dialog box 254, for example, can be activated byright-clicking with a pointing device or hovering over the heading orsubheading for at least a predetermined period of time. In thissituation, the synonyms are provided mainly to educate the user as tothe types of information or commands that are within the scope of theheading. Additionally, a user can select one of the terms in the synonymto modify the taxonomy accordingly. In this way, the user can customizethe taxonomy to present terms more familiar to the user than theinitially provided headings and commands of the taxonomy. Those skilledin the art will understand and appreciate various display formats thatcould be used to provide a list of possible synonyms.

As described above, there may be instances when a user cannot find adesired term listed explicitly in any of the dimensions or in any of theprovided synonyms. The user can issue a search over the set of commandsand headings of the current taxonomy. An internal search engine searchesboth the existing headings and commands in the taxonomy and synonyms forthe existing terms. The scope of the search can be within a particularcolumn or across all the columns.

FIGS. 10A-10D illustrate an example of a methodology that can beutilized by the user to search for and obtain an appropriate synonym ina single dimension or column 204 of the GUI 200 according to an aspectof the present invention. In this example, the user desires a synonymfor the term “COST”, which is not shown in the visible portion of theGUI 200. The user has expanded the heading BUSINESS from the WHO column204 of the GUI 200 and selected a business name (e.g., BUSINESS 3indicated at 264) from a list of names in a WHO-BUSINESS display object266 of the GUI (FIG. 10A). Next, as depicted in FIG. 10B, the userselects the heading of a PROPERTY dimension 208, such as with agraphical pointer 270 represented in the GUI 200. This causes an inputdialog box 270 to appear on the GUI 200 (FIG. 1C), prompting the userfor the search term. The user has entered the term “COST”. Then, asshown in FIG. 10D, the search engine for the GUI returns a synonymdialog box 274 indicating that the term “PRICE” is equivalent to “COST”,which is listed in the property dimension 208.

FIGS. 11A and 11B depict an example of a sequence that can be used forsynonym searching across multiple columns according to an aspect of thepresent invention. For example, assume the user wants to purchasecommercial goods, such as electronics, on the Web, but does not see theterm “PURCHASE” in the visible columns of the GUI 200. The use can enterthe search term “PURCHASE” in a search dialog box 282. An internalsearch engine determines which headings directly pertain to the term“PURCHASE” and highlights (e.g., graphically and/or audibly) where anappropriate synonym exists in the taxonomy, such as shown in FIG. 11B.Additionally, heading hierarchies (e.g., the WHO dimension 204) can beautomatically expanded to show appropriate matching subheadings.Different visual cues further can be employed to indicate the relevancyof headings to the search term(s), such as by color of highlighting orthe level of brightness.

It will be appreciated that the display of synonyms helps the userunderstand the taxonomy used in this system. Additionally, selecting oneof the synonyms might dynamically change metadata associated with thename used for the heading in the taxonomy for a particular user.Additionally or alternatively, a metadata service associated with theuser interface can be programmed to adjust metadata for the taxonomy inresponse to learning about new synonyms selected by various users, whichcan help to improve its taxonomy. For example, if a number of usersalter the taxonomy in a similar way (e.g., by selecting an alternativeterm from that displayed in the taxonomy), the metadata service canglobally integrate this alteration for the benefit of other users. Thisenables a customization of the taxonomy for the user(s), so that thenext time the user(s) encounters the heading, it would be presented witha name more familiar to the user or a group of users.

As mentioned above, particular headings may intentionally appear inmultiple places to satisfy the belief that different users may think ofinformation and/or command taxonomies in different ways. Accordingly,subheadings can appear in multiple places, providing redundancy thatextends to the relationship between the canonical dimensions as well aswithin dimensions. For example, with reference back to FIG. 4, in theSUBJECT dimension 206, a CRAFTS subheading might appear both underSHOPPING and under LIFESTYLE headings. Some users further may conceiveof shopping as an activity, appropriately placed in the DO dimension202. Other users may instead conceive of shopping as subject matter area(such as tasks associated with researching purchases). Because of thesemultiple conceptions there can be an action under the DO dimension 202labeled “Buy/Sell” as well as a heading labeled “Shopping” in theSUBJECT dimension 206.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example of the GUI 200 implementing a free-textfilter based on information entered by the user according to an aspectof the present invention. The user can enter information for the queryvia any user input mechanism, such as text entered by a keyboard orvoice data converted to text by an associated voice processor. Theresulting information is provided in a text dialog box 290 associatedwith the GUI 200. An associated natural language engine determines whichheadings match the terms set forth in the dialog box 290. The relevancyof headings that match terms can also be indicated in the GUI 200.

For example, headings that exactly match search terms can beautomatically selected, whereas headings that are possible matches canbe highlighted as possible selections. The user can then select one ormore of the highlighted possible selection if they are commensurate withthe scope of the desired query. By way of illustration, a user mighttype into the dialog box 290: “Show me all the pictures of Jenny that Itook in Peru this summer.” The associated natural language engine wouldthen use the set of terms and synonyms in the current taxonomy topresent back to the user an indication of the filter as fully specifiedas possible based on the user input. For this example, the GUI maypresent a filter that includes the following criteria: DO/VIEW;“WHO/FRIEND, CO-WORKER; WHEN/EXACT DATE; TYPE/PICTURE; and WHERE/OTHERCOUNTRY.”

It is to be appreciated that terms from the free-text entry that are notresolvable (e.g., Jenny) can be highlighted appropriately in thetext-entry dialog box 290. In addition, terms that have ambiguoussynonyms in more than one place in the columns may cause those relatedheadings to be highlighted as possible selections for the currentfilter. Until the user selects enough headings to disambiguate theinterpretation of the free-text user input, the current filter mayoperate in an incomplete state. When in an incomplete state, thecorresponding results pane (not shown) can show all relevant results,such as ranked by relevance.

Search terms that a user employs in the free-text search interface canbe cross-referenced with the taxonomy to further refine the systemschoice of which synonyms to display. For example, when the user tries tofind a synonym by issuing a free-text entry associated with a particularcolumn, the associated natural language engine utilizes the semanticcontent of that particular column for context to help narrow down fromthe list of possible synonyms.

Another aspect of the present invention provides feedback relating to afilter, such a predictive feedback to provide information to the userabout possible filter consequences. The filter consequences, forexample, can include an indication of number of results and/or how longit may take to retrieve results if a particular heading is selected(e.g., results of images may take longer to retrieve than text). Thefeedback can be presented graphically, textually and/or audibly inconnection with the user interface.

By way of example, FIG. 13 illustrates the GUI 200 in a condition wherea CO-WORKER heading, indicated at 300, has been selected from the WHOdimension 204. In response to the selection 300, the GUI providespredictive feedback associated with other headings by superimposingsimple bar graphs over each heading that indicate possible consequencespertaining to results that would be obtained if that heading wereselected. Differently colored bar graphs further could be employed toindicate different types of consequences. For example, a red graph mightbe used to indicate a magnitude for the number of possible results for aheading, while a green graph indicates an approximate length of time forobtain the results.

Alternatively or additionally, the GUI 200 can be programmed to displaypossible filter consequences textually, as represented in FIG. 14. Forexample, the number of results can be presented as call out displays 310adjacent headings for one or more selected dimensions. The feedback canoccur automatically or in response to the user selecting a dimension,such as by hovering over a dimension. In the example of FIG. 14, callout displays 310 are provided for each of the headings visuallyrepresented in the TYPE dimension 212.

There are cases where, given a particular set of selected headings toform a current filter, some of the unselected headings may not berelevant as possible refinements to the current filter. Therefore, tohelp reduce visual clutter in the GUI and to reinforce the relationshipbetween different headings in the information taxonomy, the GUI canmodify the appearance, such as by de-emphasizing or even hidingremaining headings that may be irrelevant to the current filteraccording to an aspect of the present invention.

For instance, where the user has already selected a combination ofheadings to obtain information or implement a task (e.g., DEVICE/CD,TYPE/MUSIC, and DO/PLAY), with current hardware connections, it likelywould be meaningless to also select the heading DEVICE/TELEPHONE.Accordingly, the DEVICE/TELEPHONE heading would gain a visual cue (e.g.,a reduction in brightness, hiding the heading, reducing its sizerelative to other headings, etc.) to indicate its current irrelevance.Of course, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoingexample merely describes the concept, as with a sophisticatedinterconnected home-network it would be possible to patch backgroundmusic into a telephone conversation and in this case the option would beavailable. Thus, the visual cues can be applied based on theconfiguration of the system and taxonomy in which the GUI operates. Ascapabilities of hardware and software evolve, the possible relationshipsshown in the GUI 200 also evolve.

While most discussions thus far have focused on providing resultstextually, such as in the results pane 222 shown in FIG. 6, it is to beappreciated that results also can include graphical features. Thepresentation of results, for example, can vary as a function of whichdimension associated with the current filter is designated at primary. Aresults pane thus can be reconfigured to present results in a formatdesigned to correspond to the type of information (or command) beingsought by the user.

FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate examples of results that can be provided inconnection with a filter employing the WHERE dimension as the primarydimension. In particular, FIG. 15 depicts a results pane 320 configuredas a map of a region selected in the WHERE dimension. Results items 322,324 and 326 of the current filter are shown spatially oriented on top ofthe map to identify locations associated with the respective results.The user can select the respective results items 322-326 to providegreater information about the results and/or an enlarged view of theregion shown in the results pane 320.

By way of further example, if the user selects the heading MY CITY fromthe WHERE dimension and NEWS from the ABOUT dimension, display objects(e.g., icons) that represent news stories relevant to the user's hometown can be shown superimposed in the locations associated with eachnews story.

After selecting one or more items in the graphical results pane 320, theuser also can issue a command to refine the filter based on the selecteditems, such as illustrated in connection with FIG. 16. FIG. 16 showspart of the GUI 200, including a subheading display object MY CITY 330expanded out from the WHERE dimension 216. The results pane has beenmodified from that shown in FIG. 15 due to changes in the currentfilter. For example, a user could gesturally drag out a “rubber band”region 332 on the map-centric view of the results pane 320, right-clickto display a context-menu, and then select an option called RESTRICTFILTER TO SELECTED REGION. After doing this, results items in theresults pane 320 that are not in the refined region (e.g., item 324associated with the subheading AUBURN in FIG. 15) would be removed fromthe display and the selected heading in the WHERE dimension 216 wouldchange to reflect the results for the specific region selected.Alternatively, the user can deselect one or more headings from the GUI330 to refine the current filter and the corresponding results.

FIG. 17 illustrates another example of a results pane 340, that can beemployed to present the user with results for a current filterconstructed based on one or more selected headings in accordance with anaspect of the present invention. The results pane 340, for example, isdivided into several regions 342, 344 and 346 that display additionalinformation to the user, including multiple levels of relevancy for thecurrent filter. Each region 342, 344, 346 can include an associated userinterface element 348, 350, 352 to enable scrolling through the list ofresults in each respective region. Those skilled in the art willappreciate various possible divisions or categories of regions thatcould be implemented as part of the results pane 340 in a GUI accordingto an aspect of the present invention.

By way of example, the results pane 340 in the example of FIG. 17includes three regions, namely, an EXACT region 342, a RELEVANT region344, and a SPONSORED region 346. The EXACT region 342 includes thoseresults that directly match or satisfy the current filter. The RELEVANTregion 344 includes additional items deemed as related to the currentresults. For example, the results items in the RELEVANT region 344 mightbe items that satisfy most of the selected filters or might satisfyfilters composed of headings of the selected commands. This provides theuser with serendipitous discoveries analogous to finding interestingbooks near an initially desired book in a library. The SPONSORED region346 displays items that are deemed by a service-provider ordata-provider as being particularly relevant to the user given thegeneral scope of the current filter. For instance, the user may haveselected a filter having to do with travel in Southeast Asia. Thedata-provider may choose to put an item called “Find cheap air-fares” inthis section of the Results Pane.

As described herein, there are many ways in which users can select andedit (or refine) filters. One way is to select one or more textualheadings that encapsulate a query (see, e.g., FIG. 5). For example,selecting the heading labeled MUSIC from the TYPE dimension 212 filtersthe results to show only those items that are of type music. This couldinclude music files, recordings, or even sheet music. Headings such asSIZE, and PRICE (both within the PROPERTY dimension) and dimensions suchas WHEN provide entry points into selecting from a continuous set ofvalues. Thus, a GUI implemented in accordance with an aspect of thepresent invention can present the user with appropriate user interfaceelements to enable the user to select a desired continuous value from arange of continuous values.

By way of illustration, FIGS. 18, 19 and 20 depict different approachesthat can be employed to facilitate selecting an appropriate value from aset of continuous values according to various aspects of the presentinvention. In FIG. 18, a SIZE subheading display object 360 issuperimposed over the PROPERTY dimension 208 to provide a list ofcorresponding sizes that can be selected to narrow the current filtercriteria. Thus, the user can add values (or sets of values) to thefilter by either selecting from the automatically generated texturallist or by entering a desired quantity manually, such as by selectingthe OTHER subheading.

FIG. 19 depicts a reconfigured WHEN dimension 364 that includes a sliderobject 366. For example, the slider object 366 corresponds to a timelinethat could be provided for in place of the type of WHEN dimension havingrelated text-based headings. The user employs a pointer 368 to select adesired position along the slider 366 between ends 370 and 372 of theslider. Alternatively or additionally, the slider may include anadjustable slider object that is moveable between its respective ends368 and 370. A pop-up dialog 374 also can be presented in conjunctionwith the slider to more particularly identify the time selected with theslider 364.

FIG. 20 illustrates a graphical and textual display object (e.g., apop-up selector) 380 that can be employed to select and present aselected continuous value or range of values. In FIG. 20, the selector380 is associated with a SIZE heading of the PROPERTY dimension 208,although such a selector can be utilized with respect to any dimensionor heading that may encode a set of continuous values. The selector 380includes graphical representation of a slide (e.g., thumb of a slider)382 that can be adjusted to a desired position. The selector alsoincludes an associated window 384 that displays a value based on theposition of the slide 382. The value can be an actual value, apercentage of an available range or scale, for example. As newvisualization and related selection techniques are developed, thesetechniques can be integrated into the interface framework as views forparticular dimensions.

After editing the filter via any of the means for selecting continuousvalues (e.g., as illustrated in FIGS. 18-20), a visual cue can bedisplayed adjacent the appropriate heading to denote its currentsetting. The display of and interaction with individual dimensions canbe even further optimized by presenting highly specific views for eachcolumn. For example, an interactive map (e.g., similar to that shown inFIGS. 15 and 16) could be used for the WHERE dimension 216. These typesof specialized dimension or heading views further would include cues forindicating the selected region and user-interface elements or controlsfor changing the range displayed in each unbounded dimension. Theinteractive map example should include the ability to change both thezoom-level and panned region. The linear arrangement of canonicaldimensions (as shown in many of the figures) is only one of manydifferent kinds of layouts. In general, different dimensions, such asTime and Space each are best served by views that are optimized for thatparticular type of attributes and data.

As described herein, various relationships between results for a currentfilter can be presented in a variety of ways. The optimum presentationformat typically depends on the filter criteria and which criteria areemployed to sort the results. FIGS. 21-24 depict examples of resultspanes employing different sorting criteria that can be used to presentresults items according to various aspects of the present invention. Forexample, the results depicted in FIGS. 21-24 could be presented inresponse to constructing a particular filter to show “documents relatedto my co-workers from the last month (WHO/CO-WORKER, WHEN/THIS MONTH,and TYPE/DOCUMENT). Any given co-worker may have authored many documentsduring the last month and any of these documents might in turn havemultiple authors.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a results pane 400 with results sortedby documents with multiple people listed in each line in connection withrespective documents. FIG. 22 shows results pane 410 with results sortedby person with multiple documents listed in each line for associatedpersons. FIG. 23 depicts a results pane 420 with results sorted bypeople, with one line for each document within each of a plurality ofperson sections. FIG. 24 provides an example of a results pane 430 withresults sorted by documents and one line used for each person with ineach document section. Most of these examples presuppose that the user(or the system by default) has designated one of the dimensions (orheadings) as providing a primary sort. For instance, in FIG. 23 theprimary-sort is on the WHO dimension, such that there is only onelisting for each name but multiple listings for each document. Thoseskilled in the art will understand various other formats and sortingcriteria that could be employed to present results to the user.

Other examples of visual indications (or cues) that can be employed torepresent relationships between results are depicted in connection withthe result panes of FIGS. 25-29, in which similar reference numbersrefer to similar parts in the various views. In FIG. 25, a results pane500 for the current filter includes two columns of display objects,namely a person column 502 and a document column 504. One person appearson each line of the person column 502 and one document is on each lineof the document column 504. Relationships between all items in therespective columns are indicated by interconnecting visual cues (e.g.,arrows) 506.

FIG. 26 depicts a results pane 510 similar to FIG. 25, as it includescolumns 502 and 504 with individual results items on each respectiveline. Visual cues 512 show correspondence between a particular person(e.g., Jan French) and their associated documents. The visual cues 512can be triggered, for example, by selecting the person, such as byclicking on the person or hovering a pointer 514 over the person's namein the results pane 510.

FIG. 27 shows a results pane 520 with a different set of relationshipsbetween items in the columns 502 and 504. In the example of FIG. 27,visual cues 522 show correspondence between a particular document, whichcan be selected by a pointer object 524, and its associated people.

A particularly interesting example is depicted in the results pane 530shown in FIG. 28. In FIG. 28, the selection of a document itemessentially propagates with a falloff function, namely, a falloff degreeof two. For example, the user employs a pointer to select the documentobject “Contract Negotiation Guidelines” and those co-workers who areassociated with the document are indicated by a first set ofcorresponding visual cues (indicated as thick lines) 532. Additionally,one more level of relationships can be displayed by the systemimplicitly simultaneously selecting each of the co-workers associatedwith the aforementioned document and, in turn, providing a second set ofvisual cues from those co-workers and their associated documents.Different types of visual cues (e.g., different line thicknesses and/ordifferent line colors) can be used to distinguish the differentrelationships being represented by such visual cues. It is to beappreciated that the user can adjust the levels of selection propagationand falloff function for the visual display of the selection to vary theamount of visual clutter and also determine how many relationships canbe seen at once.

FIG. 29 depicts a results pane 540 in which relationships from aselected item in column 504 to items in column 502 are represented byhighlighting the items in the other column. For example, the documentobject 542 for “Contract Negotiations Guidelines” has been selected,such as by hovering a pointer 544 over the item. This results in peoplein column 502 that are associated with this document being dynamicallyhighlighted in response to the pointer 544 hovering over the documentobject. Those skilled in the art will appreciate other types of visualcues that could be employed to indicate an association or relationshipbetween items in a results pane according to an aspect of the presentinvention.

While many of the foregoing examples of GUIs described above employ ageneral information and/or command taxonomy for general purposeinformation searching and performing tasks, those skilled in the artwill understand and appreciate that a taxonomy to filter command andinformation databases can also be extended to other, more specificdomains according to an aspect of the present invention.

For instance, FIG. 30 illustrates a GUI 600 configured as a taxonomy tosupport a typical internal business application, such as can be used totrack employees and gather statistics and the like. The GUI 600 includesthe following general dimensions: an EMPLOYEE ACTIONS dimension 602, aWHO-TITLE dimension 604, a SUBJECT-EMAIL LISTS dimension 606, aPROPERTIES dimension 608, a WHEN dimension 610, a TYPE dimension 612, aDEVICE-ASSETS dimension 614, and a WHERE dimension 616. Other taxonomiesalso could be used. Each of the dimensions 602-616 includes headingsrelated to the dimension in which they are associated. Because thetaxonomy shown in the GUI 600 is substantially similar to those shownand described above with respect to FIGS. 4-29, for example, usersfamiliar with a taxonomy for a particular application area should beable to easily use it for another application domain. This process ofuser acclimatization is aided if graceful transitions (e.g., viaanimation) are used to change from one configuration of dimensions toanother.

There are several ways to transition from one configuration of thetaxonomy to another. First, the user can navigate through the DOdimension to find the appropriate set of domain specific actions. Forexample, to get from the default configuration shown in most of thepreceding examples (e.g., FIG. 4) to the aforementioned human-resourcesapplication of FIG. 30, the user might go through a sequence such asclick on “Search”, then “Tools”, and finally “Human Resources.”Alternatively, the user might first select “Co-worker” and “View” (fromthe “Do” dimension). Next the user would, via a context menu, select anoption called “Display dimensions that are optimized for the currentresults,” after which the set of headings and commands would optimizethemselves for the current user-specified domain.

As mentioned above, the interface can be used not only to filter itemsand relationships from a database, but also to issue a wide range ofcommands to linked applications and/or devices according to an aspect ofthe present invention. In this kind of configuration, the taxonomy-basedGUI becomes a domain-specific task-based user-interface where items inan associated results pane can correspond to fully specified tasks. Theheadings in each column enable the user to iteratively search throughthe task space. This is in contrast to the disparate ways that users canfind commands in a typical application: either by looking through a setof fixed menus or by searching in a linked help system. Composing thecommand space into a taxonomy that then accesses dynamically generatedtasks unites these two disparate interface techniques in accordance withan aspect of the present invention.

A generic command, such as “Play”, generally requires less hierarchicalheading navigation on the part of a user. With the standardconfiguration (e.g., FIG. 4), for example, a user would select “Do/Play”and “Device/DVD” to instruct the DVD player to start. As mentionedabove, the dimensions and headings can be reconfigured by the user tofit a particular application or device's need.

Using a taxonomy-based command interface, in accordance with an aspectof the present invention, for displaying a set of commands supports thevariance in the way that users remember and use commands in typicalapplications. For example, many conventional applications use acommand-specification sequence, typically referred to as “noun-verb,”where the user first selects an object, then issues a command to thatobject. An example operation is a user selecting text and then clickingon a button to make the text bold. When the intended action becomes morecomplicated the command sequence is often extended to “noun-verb-noun.”These kinds of command interfaces typically require a strict orderedsequence of actions on the part of the user. Accordingly, they can beconfusing and error prone, such as if the guidance cues presented to theuser are not salient enough. Thus, if the user gets out of sequence,unintended consequences can result in conventional systems.

In contrast, when commands and actionable objects are presented in ataxonomy-based command interface implemented in accordance with anaspect of the present invention, the user is freed from the reliance onstrict ordering of command sequences. That is, the command interface isflexible as it is not restricted to a particular order of command andparameter terms.

With reference to FIG. 31, an example of a command interface GUI 620according to an aspect of the present invention is illustrated. The GUI620 includes dimensions 622-636 configured for controlling variouscomputer controllable devices, such as in an electronically wired homeor office. The dimensions 622-636 are populated with headings accordingto an application-specific taxonomy constructed to facilitate performingassociated available tasks.

By way of illustration, if the user selects a “noun” such as the headingFURNACE from the DEVICE dimension 634, command headings, such as SET,that apply to FURNACE can be highlighted. Alternatively or additionally,unrelated headings could be de-emphasized from the GUI to indicate theirirrelevance to the selected FURNACE heading, as described herein. If theSET heading is then selected, the properties that can be set, including,for example, START TIME, STOP TIME, and etc., are then highlighted.Alternatively, the user could first select “START TIME and those devices(e.g., “nouns”) to which it makes sense to do something with the “StartTime” would, in turn, be highlighted. In this way, the user can specifya command-object sequence in practically any order: “noun-verb-noun”,“verb, noun, noun”, etc. The flexibility of sequence ordering generallydepends on how rich the metadata associated with the system is.

By way of further illustration, with the default configuration ofdimensions and headings for a general information/command taxonomy, suchas in FIG. 4, a user may have to engage in a fair degree of headingnavigation to issue specific application or device commands, such as“Count the number of words in document Foo.” Thus, as illustrated inFIG. 32, selected dimensions of the general interface 200 (e.g., FIG. 4)can be configured to form a command interface GUI 640 suitable for asimple word-processor, which can be accessed, for example, through amore general command interface. Alternatively, the GUI 640 can beimplemented as a stand-alone interface.

For example, the GUI 640 includes a command dimension DO-PROCESSING 642,a SUBJECT dimension 644, a PROPERTIES dimension 646 and a TYPE-SELECTdimension 648. Each of the dimensions 642-648 includes associatedheadings and subheadings that form a taxonomy to facilitate use of anassociated word processing application. It is to be appreciated thatwith a hierarchical composition of commands and objects, the set ofdimensions 642-648 could accommodate even more complex applicationemulation.

FIG. 33 illustrates an example of using a GUI 650 configured accordingto a taxonomy for accessing a database of corporate research inaccordance with an aspect of the present invention. The GUI 650 dividesthe taxonomy into five base dimensions, such as a PEOPLE dimension 652,a TOPICS dimension 654, a PROJECTS dimension 656, a FILES dimension 658and a DATES dimension 660. When this taxonomy is cast into the GUI 650,according to an aspect of the present invention, users can quickly findrelationships between different projects, cross-workgroup topics, andbreadth of work from particular individuals and so forth.

This kind of user-interface could show, for example, that twenty peopleare working in the area of data mining, such as by selecting a DATAMINING heading in the TOPICS dimension 654, and that two of the projectsin Data Mining are called Project I and Project III. From this a usercould then easily find out which particular personnel are working on theProject III. These and other types of relationships may not initially belisted in any corporate database. Instead, the only relationshipsdefined might be between people and workgroups, between workgroups andtopics, and between workgroups and projects, for example.

Since it is known what workgroup a particular person is in and whattopics that workgroup is associated with, an implicit relationshipbetween workgroup members and those set of topics can be made—likewisefor the set of projects—in accordance with an aspect of the presentinvention. These relationships may not be entirely accurate, however, asnot every member of the workgroup works on every topic associated withthat workgroup. The degree to which erroneous data is displayed as aresult of setting up a particular filter is dependent on the balancebetween implicit and explicit relationships. Because a system and userinterface, according to an aspect of the present invention, supportsfacile editing of relationships within the same viewing environment,mistakes can quickly be corrected as they are encountered, as describedherein.

For example, the GUI system implemented according to an aspect of thepresent invention permits users to dynamically assign metadata to itemsin the database and/or modify existing metadata of data items. Thechanges can be implemented in response to the user modifying headings orrelationships presented to the user through the GUI. This is very usefulfor correcting errors in the data, such as can result from erroneousdata-entry or an over-reliance on implicit relationships between dataitems, to compensate for missing metadata. Errors can typically be oftwo types: (i) the system might incorrectly think that a particularheading does not have a relationship to an item in the database(referred to below as an “incorrect negative association”) or (ii) thata heading incorrectly does have a relationship to the given item(referred to below as an “incorrect positive association”). The usergenerally cannot simply tell the system to remove this item from theresult set, as it may be ambiguous to the system which relationship (ifthere are more than one selected headings) is incorrect. Instead, theuser interface can enable the user to correct these mistakes in thefollowing ways.

By way of illustration, with regard to an incorrect negativeassociation, the user selects a set of filters, such that some resultsitems appear in the results pane of the GUI. The user selects anadditional heading to modify the current filter and notices that one ofthe items in the Results Pane is incorrectly removed to satisfy thefilter. Thus, to correct this scenario, for example, the user can turnoff the last selected filter, select the item in question in the resultspane, open a context-menu from the item, select “Create Association”from the menu, then click on the filter that was not correctlyassociated with the item.

With regard to an incorrect positive association scenario, the userselects a set of headings to construct a corresponding filter thatprovides a few results items in the results pane. The user notices thatone (or more) of the items should not appear in the Results Pane becauseit does not apply to the current filter. To correct the incorrectpositive association, for example, the user can select the item inquestion in the results pane, open a context-menu from the item, select“Delete Association” from the menu, then click on the heading that wasincorrectly associated with the item.

By way of further example, referring back to FIG. 4, the user selectsVIEW heading from the DO dimension 202, SELF from the WHO dimension 204and then DOCUMENT from the TYPE dimension 212. All documents that applyto the user are then displayed in the Results Pane based on the currentfilter. The user then selects “Priority/High” from the PROPERTYdimension 208. Immediately, the results are narrowed down to show onlythose items which are also a priority metatag of “High” assigned tothem. When this happens, the user may notice that a particular item,that the user erroneously thought was high-priority, is removed from theresults. To change this, for example, the user deselects thehigh-priority heading, which causes the desired item to reappear in theresults pane. After clicking on a “Create Association” context button(not shown), the user clicks on the “Priority/High” heading, thusassigning “Priority/High as a property or attribute of the item, whichassignment is applied to metadata associated with the item. In general,this kind of action is only valid for metadata that is user assignable.User-assignable metadata, for example, for a document or file couldinclude “Subject”, “Status”, “Priority”, “Rating”, and “Who.” Meta-datasuch as “Created by” and “Type” are usually not user editable, althoughthese permissions could be determined by the creator of the particularfilter set. It can be appreciated that an implementation of this userinterface would include visual and or other cues to indicate to the userwhich metadata is user-assignable and which is intrinsic to particularitems in the database.

Another simpler example illustrates how this system could be used forthe general task of tagging items with user-assigned metadata. A userselects “Document” from the “What” dimension. A list of all documentswithin the system's database is displayed. A user can then assign “tag”(assign metadata) to any number of results items by dragging assignmentproxies from subheadings onto individual items. Conversely, the user candrag proxies of an item or sets of items from the results view to anddrop on top of subheadings that represent desired metadata.

There are many cases will users will desire to have views of metadatafor items in the results view, where that particular metadata is not acontributor to the current filter. In one example, a user might want tosee a list of all documents that are about “Fishing.” The user thenmight want to sort these documents by date of creation. To do this, thesystem lets the user display metadata (such as date) even if thatmetadata is not part of the current filter. The items in the resultspane can also be sorted by any of the displayed metadata dimensions.

FIGS. 34-43 provides some additional specific examples of GUIs thatcould be implemented as information and/or command interfaces tofacilitate specification of queries and command tasks according tovarious aspects of the present invention. More particularly, FIGS. 34-39depict screen shots corresponding to various information queries andtasks that can be implemented using a general information and/or commandinterface relative to one or more databases. For purposes of brevity andease of explanation, similar reference numbers are used to designatecorresponding parts in the FIGS. 34-39. FIGS. 40-43 provide morespecific examples of an interface arranged according to a taxonomydesigned for accessing a database of corporate research, such as couldbe implemented over the Internet or an intranet.

FIG. 34 depicts an example of an information and/or command interfaceGUI 700 implementing a particular information filter. The GUI 700includes a collection of dimensions 702-716 arranged according to ageneral information/command taxonomy. Also depicted is a dimension 718of predefined filters or tasks, such as can pertain to recentlyimplemented or frequently implemented tasks or queries. Additionally oralternatively, a user can create predefined filters in this or otherdimensions so that convenient filters will be readily available for theuser. In the example of FIG. 34, the user has selected headings tocreate a filter having the following properties: WHO/FRIENDS/ANDYSILBER; PROPERTY/RECEIVED FROM; and WHAT/EMAIL. The filter, at least inpart, could be created by selecting a corresponding predefined task(e.g., “From a Specific Person”) 720 from the dimension 718, such ascorresponds to a recently used filter. Alternatively, the user canselect the appropriate combination of headings and subheadings from thedimensions 702-716 to implement the filter, such as through a suitableuser input device (e.g., mouse, keyboard, voice interface device, etc.).The particular task being implemented is shown in a task window 722 withcorresponding results 724 presented as interactive display object in aresults pane 726.

FIG. 35 depicts the GUI 700 as implementing an information query relatedto a possible business transaction, such as purchasing an airlineticket. In the particular example of FIG. 35, the filter is composed ofDO/BUY-SELL/PLANE TICKETS, WHO/MYSELF, WHEN/IN THE FUTURE/TWO WEEKS, andWHERE/OTHER COUNTRY/MEXICO. As described herein, the filter forimplementing the query can be entered as a free text query, such as byentering “How much do plane tickets to Cabo San Lucas cost for nextweek?” in window 722, or by selecting appropriate headings andsubheadings across the dimensions 702-716. The results 724 thus presentthe user with possible airline reservations and airfare that satisfy thefilter. The user can select a desired flight, for example, by clickingon corresponding user interface elements, such as an express bookingdisplay object 730 or a “Choose and continue” display object 732associated with the flight of choice. It is to be appreciated that withthe GUI 700, the user can iteratively modify the current filter toobtain different information or to sort the information differently insubstantially real-time, such as by selectively adding and/or removingheadings and subheadings.

In FIG. 36, the GUI 700 is being employed to retrieve a set ofdocuments. In particular, the task window 722 displays “Images from lastmonth”, which corresponds to a natural language representation of thecurrent filter. Appropriate headings and subheadings for this filter areselected from among the available dimensions 702-718. Specifically,WHEN/LAST MONTH and WHAT/MEDIA/IMAGE are selected to presentcorresponding results 724 of image items in the results pane 726. Theselections could be made directly through the WHEN and WHAT dimensions710 and 712, by enter a free text search of “Images from last month” inthe window 722, or by selecting a predefined filter 740 from thepredefined filter dimension 718.

FIG. 37 is an example of the GUI 700 being employed to obtaininformation about particular types of media events or programs, namely“TV shows about cats”, as indicated in the task window 722. The filterimplemented in the GUI 700 thus corresponds to ABOUT/PERSONAL/PETS/CATSand WHAT/MEDIA/TV SHOW, which can be selected from the dimensionsdirectly or a predefined heading of the task dimension 750 or byentering a free-text query in the window 722. The results items 724presented in the results pane 726 provide interactive informationlisting television shows that satisfy the current filter. Thus, a usercan select a given item, for example, to obtain additional informationabout a particular show or to program a recording device, such as avideo cassette recorder, a personal video recorder or other recordingdevice, to record the selected program. When a results item is selectedto perform a task, appropriate headings and subheadings in thecommand-based interface would be selected. Alternatively oradditionally, the user can modify the filter by selecting or deselectingheadings.

By way of further illustration, the GUI 700 can be employed to implementa command interface, such as an electronic program guide, to facilitateviewing or recording of audio and/or visual programming. For example,available audio and/or visual programming data for respective programsmay be filtered by metadata identifying a title, description, duration,rating, stars or hosts, broadcast date and time, genre or category ofprogram, etc. Thus, by selecting appropriate headings from the GUI,corresponding information may be organized and presented as resultsitems 724 in a corresponding results pane 726. Various headings andsubheadings of the GUI 700 may, in turn, be employed to implementfunctionality (e.g., play or record or obtain additional information)relative to desired programming.

In FIG. 38, the GUI 700 is illustrated in connection with obtaining alist of available music selections, such as for jazz music. The taskwindow 722 thus displays “Jazz music.” The filter can be implemented,for example, by selecting a predefined JAZZ MUSIC task 760 or byselecting appropriate headings and subheadings from the taxonomy definedby dimensions 702-716 or by entering “jazz music” into the text-entrywindow 722. The results pane 726 thus presents the user with a list jazzmusic available to the user. The music selections can be arranged in adesired manner such as, for example, alphabetically by title (as shown),although other properties of the results items also could be used assorting criteria.

FIG. 39 illustrates the GUI 700 implemented as a command interfaceaccording to an aspect of the present invention. In this particularexample, the GUI 700 is being utilized to perform the task of “Play gameAnts with friends”, as indicated in the task window 722. The taskselection can occur in response to selecting a predefined task 770 or byselecting corresponding headings and subheadings (e.g., DO/PLAY,WHO/FRIENDS, ABOUT/ANTS, WHAT/GAME and DEVICE/VIDEO PLAYER) from thetaxonomy provided by the dimensions 702-716 or by entering anappropriate free-text task into the window 722. Results 724 for thistask are presented in the results pane 726. The results 724 can includeseveral columns of items including, for example, a title of a game, gamestatus, an indication of the number of players, to name a few. Inaddition, a display object can be selected to join a particular game.Further, certain games can highlighted to indicate those game for whichone or more friends or acquaintances belong, such as based on metadataassociated with the particular instances of the respective games. Aninformation button also may be associated with each game in the results724, such as for obtaining additional information about the playersassociated with that game.

FIGS. 40-43 illustrate examples of an information interface 800configured according to a taxonomy for implementing a corporate researchdatabase in accordance with an aspect of the present invention. Forexample, the interface 800 is provided in a Web browser for a company'sintranet having an address of http://localnet/, although it is to beappreciated that, alternatively, such an interface could be provided asa Web-based interface via the Internet. The information interface 800 isdepicted as having five high-level dimensions, namely, a PEOPLEdimension 802, a PROJECTS dimension 804, a TOPICS dimension 806, a FILESdimension 808 and a TIME FRAME dimension 810. It is to be appreciatedthat other taxonomy configurations could be used. The dimensions 802-810are populated with headings for constructing filters as describedherein. A results pane 812 is presented below the dimensions 802-810 fordisplaying search results for a filter being implemented. Initially,before constructing a filter, the results pane 812 is empty, as shown inFIG. 40.

In FIG. 41, the interface is configured to implement a filter to accessinformation relating to a person (e.g., Eugene Horworth) 814 selectedfrom the PEOPLE dimension 802. As a result of the selected person, theresults pane 812 is populated with information associated with thatperson. In this example, the information is arranged in columns 816-822of related information items. In particular, one column 816 presentsprojects with which the person is associated, another column 818presents topics with which the person is associated, another column 820lists files, such as publications or technical reports, associated withthe selected person and column 822 provides dates for the displayeditems.

FIG. 42 depicts the interface 800 configured to display informationabout a selected heading in the TOPIC dimension 806, namely about userinterfaces. Results satisfying the filter are presented in the resultspane 812. The results include, for example, a list 824 of persons havinga relationship with the selected topic and a list 826 of userinterfaces. The results could be narrowed by selecting additionalheadings or subheadings, as described herein. In addition, more specificrelationships between people and the user interfaces could be presentedby further selecting people and/or interfaces (see, e.g., FIGS. 25-29).

FIG. 43 illustrates an example in which a particular project (e.g.,Project C) has been selected from the PROJECTS dimension 804. Thus, alist of persons associated with Project C, indicated at 832, as well asa list of topics relating to this project, indicated at 834, arepresented in the results pane 812.

In order to provide additional context for various aspects of thepresent invention, FIG. 44 and the following discussion are intended toprovide a brief, general description of one possible suitableenvironment 900 in which the various aspects of the present inventionmay be implemented. It is to be appreciated that the computingenvironment 900 is but one possible computing environment and is notintended to limit the environments with which the present invention canbe employed. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the inventivemethods may be practiced with other system configurations, includingsingle-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, minicomputers,mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-held computingdevices, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,video game consoles, and the like.

The illustrated aspects of the invention may also be practiced indistributed computing environments where certain tasks are performed byremote processing devices that are linked through a communicationsnetwork. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may belocated in both local and remote memory storage devices. In such adistributed environment, for example, one or more central services canprocess interactions and requests from multiple users and makeimprovements to the taxonomy based on the interactions and requests. Theimprovements can be global in scale (e.g., propagated to the taxonomythat is presented to each user), individual for each user, or be appliedto selected set of plural users. Additionally, certain taxonomicalchanges can be implemented in different dimensions for different users,such as based on usage by the user and/or other user characteristics(e.g., user profile, such as entered by the user or determinedalgorithmically).

While various aspects of the present invention have been described abovein the general context of computer-executable instructions that may runon one or more computers or other microprocessor-based equipment, it isto be recognized that the invention also may be implemented incombination with other program modules and/or as a combination ofhardware and software. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particulartasks or implement particular abstract data types.

FIG. 44 illustrates one possible hardware configuration to support thesystems and methods described herein. It is to be appreciated thatalthough a standalone architecture is illustrated, that any suitablecomputing environment can be employed in accordance with the presentinvention. For example, computing architectures including, but notlimited to, stand alone, multiprocessor, distributed, client/server,minicomputer, mainframe, supercomputer, digital and analog can beemployed in accordance with the present invention.

With reference to FIG. 44, the exemplary environment 900 forimplementing various aspects of the invention includes a computer 902,including a processing unit 904, a system memory 906, and a system bus908 that couples various system components including the system memoryto the processing unit 904. The processing unit 904 may be any ofvarious commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors andother multi-processor architectures also can be used as the processingunit 904. The computer 902 and/or portions thereof may be implemented asany electronic appliance operable to communicate with a Web-basedservice, such as, for example, a telephone (wired or wireless), apersonal computer (PC) (e.g., handheld, desktop, portable, etc.), aroaming PC, a PDA, game console or entertainment appliance, or any othersuitable microprocessor-based appliance.

The system bus 908 may be any of several types of bus structureincluding a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and alocal bus using any of a variety of commercially available busarchitectures. The system memory 906 includes read only memory (ROM) 910and random access memory (RAM) 912. A basic input/output system (BIOS)914, containing the basic routines that help to transfer informationbetween elements within the computer 902, such as during start-up, isstored in ROM 912.

The computer 902 may further include a hard disk drive 916, a magneticdisk drive 918, e.g., to read from or write to a removable disk 920, andan optical disk drive 922, e.g., for reading and/or writing datarelative to 924 optical media. The hard disk drive 916, magnetic diskdrive 918, and optical disk drive 922 are connected to the system bus908 by a hard disk drive interface 926, a magnetic disk drive interface928, and an optical drive interface 930, respectively.

The computer 902 typically includes at least some form of computerreadable media. Computer readable media can be any available media thatcan be accessed by the computer 902. By way of example, computerreadable media may comprise computer storage media and communicationmedia. Computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile,removable and non-removable media implemented in any method ortechnology for storage of information such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Computerstorage media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD), or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the computer 902.Communication media typically embodies computer readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism and includesany information delivery media. A modulated data signal includes asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information provided in the signal. By way ofexample, communication media may include wired media such as a wirednetwork or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic,RF, optical and other wireless media. Combinations of any of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

A number of program modules may be stored in the drives and RAM 912,including an operating system 932, one or more application programs 934,other program modules 936, and program non-interrupt data 938. Theoperating system 932 in the illustrated computer can be any of a numberof commercially available or proprietary operating systems. For example,the application programs and/or other program modules can includecomputer executable instructions for performing various features of theinformation and/or command interface described herein.

A user may enter commands and information into the computer 902 througha keyboard 940 and a pointing device, such as a mouse 942. Other inputdevices (not shown) may include a microphone (e.g., for voice datainputs), an IR remote control, a joystick, a game pad, a satellite dish,a scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are oftenconnected to the processing unit 904 through a serial port interface 944that is coupled to the system bus 908, but may be connected by otherinterfaces, such as a parallel port, a game port, a Universal Serial Bus(“USB”), an IR interface, etc. A monitor 946, or other type of displaydevice, is also connected to the system bus 908 via an interface, suchas a video adapter 948. In addition to the monitor, a computer caninclude other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers,printers etc.

The computer 902 may operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections to one or more remote computers, such as a remotecomputer(s) 960. The remote computer(s) 960 may be a workstation, aserver computer, a router, a personal computer, a microprocessor basedentertainment appliance, a peer device, or other common network node.The remote computer may include many or all of the elements describedrelative to the computer 902, although, for purposes of brevity, only amemory 962 is illustrated. For example, memory 962 can include one ormore databases that form an information and/or command space from whichan interface running on the computer 902 can access informationaccording to filter constructed according to an aspect of the presentinvention. The logical connections depicted include a local area network(LAN) 964 and a wide area network (WAN) 966, such as the Internet. Suchnetworking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-widecomputer networks, intranets, and the Internet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 902 is connectedto the local network 964 through a network interface or adapter 968.When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 902 typicallyincludes a modem 970, or is connected to a communications server on theLAN, or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN966. The modem 970, which may be internal or external relative to thecomputer 902, is connected to the system bus 908 via the serial portinterface 944. In a networked environment, program modules 936,application programs, or portions thereof, may be stored in the remotememory storage device 962. Similarly, when the computer 902 portions ofthe information/command space can be stored in memory 926, 928, 930 ofthe computer 902 or remote memory 962. It will be appreciated that thenetwork connections shown are exemplary and other means of establishinga communications link between the computers can be used.

What has been described above includes exemplary implementations of thepresent invention. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing the present invention, but one of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize that many further combinations and permutations of thepresent invention are possible. Accordingly, the present invention isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A system to facilitate specification of queries or commands,comprising: a user input module that receives a user input; a graphicaluser interface responsive to the user input, the GUI including ataxonomically organized visualization of a plurality of dimensions, thegraphical user interface including a visualization of plurality ofdimensions that form a taxonomy for an associated information space, thedimensions including headings derived from metadata for data items inthe information space; a filter generator that generates a filter basedon metadata associated with each heading selected in the visualization;and a results component that presents results items that substantiallysatisfy the filter.
 2. The system of claim 1, at least some of theheadings including subheadings arranged according to the informationtaxonomy to represent hierarchal relationships between at least some ofthe headings and associated subheadings.
 3. The system of claim 1,further comprising a language engine operative to derive a phrase as afunction of the filter, the phrase being visualized to the user asfeedback to indicate current filter criteria.
 4. The system of claim 1,further comprising a natural language engine that convertslanguage-based user inputs into corresponding headings that are suppliedto the filter generator, the corresponding headings being visualized inthe user interface to indicated current filter criteria.
 5. The systemof claim 1, further comprising a language engine that generates synonymsas a function of a selected heading.
 6. The system of claim 1, thefilter generator generating at least one of an information filter and acommand filter to sort data or task items based on metadata associatedwith the selected headings.
 7. The system of claim 6, at least one ofthe results items corresponding to a specified task.
 8. The system ofclaim 1, the filter generator being programmed to generate an expressionas a function of selected headings by applying a first operator toheadings selected within a given dimension and by applying a secondoperator between headings selected in different dimensions.
 9. The userinterface of claim 8, the expression further comprising a Booleanexpression in which the first operator is an OR operator and the secondoperator is an AND operator.
 10. The user interface of claim 8, thedimensions are visualized as respective columns of headings.
 11. Thesystem of claim 1, the results component visualizing at least onerelationship between results items based on the metadata of resultsitems indicating the at least one relationship.
 12. The system of claim1, the headings further comprising different headings representingredundant metadata at different locations in the taxonomy.
 13. Thesystem of claim 1, further comprising an interface manager programmed toenable the user to modify or remove assignable metadata for at least oneselected data item in the information/command space.
 14. The userinterface of claim 13, the assignable metadata including a heading in atleast one dimension of the taxonomy.
 15. The user interface of claim 14,the interface manager programmed to add a heading to at least onedimension of the taxonomy corresponding to a user-defined filterconstructed based on at least one selected heading.
 16. The userinterface of claim 13, further comprising an analysis componentprogrammed to monitor changes relating to the assignable metadata and toadjust metadata for the taxonomy and the visualization of at least oneof the dimensions that represent the taxonomy in response to a pluralityof similar changes being made relating to the assignable metadata. 17.The system of claim 1, the information/command space adding or modifyingassociated metadata for implicitly related data items in the informationspace based on other metadata of the implicitly related data itemsindicating an implicit relationship between the respective data items.18. The system of claim 1, further comprising a feedback componentprogrammed to implement visual feedback relative to the user interfacebased on the user input.
 19. The system of claim 18, the feedbackcomponent implementing predictive feedback to visually represent atleast one possible consequence associated with at least one respectiveheading if the respective heading were employed to modify the filter.20. The system of claim 1, the results items being organized into atleast two different categories to indicate different degrees ofrelevancy of the results items to the filter.
 21. A system to facilitatespecification of queries or commands, comprising: a user input modulethat receives a user input; a graphical user interface (GUI) responsiveto the user input, the GUI including a taxonomically organizedvisualization of a plurality of dimensions, the plurality represent atleast a portion of a taxonomy for an associated information space, thedimensions having headings derived from metadata for data items in theinformation space and optionally having subheadings wherein thesubheadings are arranged according to the information taxonomy torepresent hierarchal relationships between at least some of the headingsand associated subheadings; a filter generator that generates a filterbased on metadata associated with each heading or a synonym of theheading selected in the visualization; and a results component thatpresents results items that substantially satisfy the filter.